M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
The Ark of God Inhabits a Tent
17 (A)Now it happened when David inhabited his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, “Behold, I inhabit a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of Yahweh is under tent curtains.” 2 So Nathan said to David, “Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.”
3 Now it happened in the same night, that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, 4 “Go and say to David My servant, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “(B)You shall not build Me a house to inhabit; 5 for I have not inhabited a house since the day that I brought up Israel to this day, (C)but I have been from tent to tent and from one [a]dwelling place to another. 6 Wherever I have gone about with all Israel, did I speak a word (D)with even one of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’”’
David’s House Will Be Established Forever
7 So now, thus shall you say to My servant David, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts, “I Myself took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel. 8 And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make you a name like the name of the great men who are on the earth. 9 And I will appoint a place for My people Israel and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place and not be disturbed again; and the [b]unrighteous will not waste them anymore as formerly, 10 even from the day that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel. And I will subdue all your enemies.
And I tell you that Yahweh will build a house for you. 11 And it will be that when your days are fulfilled to go to be with your fathers, I will raise up one of your seed after you, who will be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom. 12 He shall build for Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. 13 (E)I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; and I will not remove My lovingkindness from him, (F)as I removed it from him who was before you. 14 But I will cause him to stand in My house and in My kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever.”’” 15 According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.
David Magnifies Yahweh’s Name
16 Then David the king went in and sat before Yahweh and said, “(G)Who am I, O Yahweh God, and what is my house that You have brought me this far? 17 And this was a small thing in Your eyes, O God; but You have spoken of the house of Your slave concerning the distant future, and have regarded me according to the standard of a man of high degree, O Yahweh God. 18 Again what more can David say to You concerning the glory bestowed on Your slave? You know Your slave. 19 O Yahweh, (H)for the sake of Your slave, and according to Your own heart, You have done all this greatness, to make known all these great things. 20 O Yahweh, there is none like You, and there is no God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears. 21 And what one nation in the earth is like Your people Israel, whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make You a name by great and awesome things, in driving out nations from before Your people, whom You redeemed out of Egypt? 22 (I)Yet You gave Your people Israel to be Your own people forever, and You, O Yahweh, have become their God.
23 “So now, O Yahweh, let the word that You have spoken concerning Your slave and concerning his house [c]endure forever, and do as You have spoken, 24 that Your name [d]endure and be magnified forever, by saying, ‘Yahweh of hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel; and the house of David Your [e]servant is established before You.’ 25 For You, O my God, have revealed in the hearing of Your slave that You will build for him a house; therefore Your slave has found courage to pray before You. 26 So now, O Yahweh, You are God, and You have [f]promised this good thing to Your slave. 27 So now, You have been pleased to bless the house of Your slave, that it may be forever before You. For You, O Yahweh, have blessed, and it is blessed forever.”
Draw Near to God
4 [a]What is the source of quarrels and (A)conflicts among you? [b]Is not the source your pleasures that wage (B)war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have, so you (C)murder. You are envious and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and (D)do not receive, because you ask [c]with wrong motives, so that you may spend it [d]on your pleasures. 4 You (E)adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with (F)the world is (G)enmity toward God? (H)Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world sets himself as an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture (I)speaks to no purpose: “[e]He [f]jealously desires (J)the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”? 6 But (K)He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “(L)God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7 (M)Be subject therefore to God. (N)Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 (O)Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. (P)Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and (Q)purify your hearts, you (R)double-minded. 9 (S)Be miserable and mourn and cry. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 (T)Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.
11 (U)Do not slander one another, (V)brothers. He who slanders a brother or (W)judges his brother, slanders (X)the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not (Y)a doer of the law but a judge of it. 12 There is only one (Z)Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is (AA)able to save and to destroy. But (AB)who are you who judge your neighbor?
Life Is a Vapor
13 (AC)Come now, you who say, “(AD)Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” 14 [g]Yet you do not know [h]what your life will be like tomorrow. (AE)You are a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. 15 [i]Instead, you ought to say, “(AF)If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” 16 But as it is, you boast in your [j]arrogance. (AG)All such boasting is evil. 17 Therefore, (AH)to one who knows to do the [k]right thing and does not do it, to him it is sin.
Jonah Flees from Yahweh’s Presence
1 Now the word of [a]Yahweh came to (A)Jonah the son of Amittai saying, 2 “Arise, go to (B)Nineveh, the great city, and (C)call out against it, for their (D)evil has come up before Me.” 3 Yet Jonah arose to flee to (E)Tarshish (F)from the presence of Yahweh. So he went down to (G)Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, and [b]paid its fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of Yahweh.
4 But (H)Yahweh hurled a great wind on the sea, and there was a great storm on the sea so that the ship gave thought to [c]breaking apart. 5 Then the sailors became fearful, and every man cried to (I)his god, and they (J)hurled the [d]cargo which was in the ship into the sea to lighten it [e]for them. But Jonah had gone down below into the innermost part of the vessel, lain down, and fallen deep asleep. 6 So the captain came near to him and said to him, “How is it that you are deeply sleeping? Arise, (K)call on your god. Perhaps your (L)god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish.”
7 Then each man said to the other, “Come, let us [f](M)have the lots fall so we may know on whose account this calamitous evil has struck us.” So they [g]had the lots fall, and the (N)lot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, “(O)Tell us, now! On whose account has this calamitous evil struck us? What is your (P)occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?” 9 And he said to them, “I am a (Q)Hebrew, and I (R)fear Yahweh, the (S)God of heaven, who (T)made the sea and the dry land.”
10 Then the men became greatly fearful, and they said to him, “What is this you have done?” For the men knew that he was (U)fleeing from the presence of Yahweh because he had told them. 11 So they said to him, “What should we do to you that the sea may become quiet [h]for us?”—for the sea was becoming increasingly stormy. 12 So he said to them, “Lift me up and hurl me into the sea. Then the sea will become quiet [i]for you, for I know that (V)on account of me this great storm has come upon you.” 13 However, the men [j]rowed desperately to return to dry land, but they could not, for the sea was becoming increasingly stormy against them. 14 Then they called on (W)Yahweh and said, “Ah! O Yahweh, we earnestly pray, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life, and do not put innocent blood on us; for (X)You, O Yahweh, as You have pleased You have done.”
15 So they lifted Jonah up and hurled him into the sea, and the sea (Y)stood still from its raging. 16 Then the men greatly feared Yahweh, and they offered a sacrifice to Yahweh and made (Z)vows.
17 [k]And Yahweh appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the (AA)stomach of the fish three days and three nights.
Lord of the Sabbath
6 (A)Now it happened that on a Sabbath He was passing through some grainfields, and His disciples (B)were picking and eating the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. 2 But some of the Pharisees said, “Why do you do what (C)is not lawful on the Sabbath?” 3 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Have you never read (D)what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him, 4 how he entered the house of God, and took and ate the [a]consecrated bread which (E)is not lawful for any to eat except the priests alone, and gave it to his companions?” 5 And He was saying to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
Jesus Heals a Man on the Sabbath
6 (F)Now it happened that on another Sabbath He entered (G)the synagogue and was teaching; and there was a man there [b]whose right hand was withered. 7 And the scribes and the Pharisees (H)were watching Him closely to see if He heals on the Sabbath, so that they might find reason to accuse Him. 8 But He (I)knew [c]what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and [d]come forward!” And he stood up and [e]came forward. 9 And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?” 10 And after (J)looking around at them all, He said to him, “Stretch out your hand!” And he did so, and his hand was restored. 11 But they themselves were filled with [f]rage, and were discussing together what they might do to Jesus.
Jesus Appoints the Twelve
12 Now it happened that [g]at this time He went off to (K)the mountain to (L)pray, and He was spending the whole night in prayer to God. 13 And when day came, (M)He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as (N)apostles: 14 Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James and John; and Philip and Bartholomew; 15 and (O)Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot; 16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
17 And Jesus (P)came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was (Q)a large crowd of His disciples, and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of (R)Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were being cured. 19 And all the crowd was trying to (S)touch Him, for (T)power was coming from Him and healing them all.
The Beatitudes
20 And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say,
“(U)Blessed are the poor, for (V)yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are those who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied.
Blessed are those who cry now, for you shall laugh.
22 (W)Blessed are you when men hate you, and (X)exclude you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man.
23 Be glad in that day and (Y)leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For (Z)their fathers were doing the same things to the prophets.
Jesus Pronounces Woes
24 But woe to (AA)you who are rich, for (AB)you are receiving your comfort in full.
25 Woe to you who [h]are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and cry.
26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers were doing the same things to the (AC)false prophets.
Love Your Enemies
27 “But I say to you who hear, (AD)love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, (AE)pray for those who disparage you. 29 (AF)Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your garment, do not withhold your [i]tunic from him either. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. 31 And [j](AG)treat others the same way you want [k]them to treat you. 32 (AH)And if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 (AI)And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. 35 But (AJ)love your enemies, and do good, and lend, [l]expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be (AK)sons of (AL)the Most High; for He Himself is kind to the ungrateful and evil. 36 [m]Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Do Not Judge
37 “(AM)And do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; [n](AN)pardon, and you will be [o]pardoned. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. They will [p]pour (AO)into your lap a (AP)good measure—pressed down, shaken together, running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”
39 And He also spoke a parable to them: “(AQ)Can a blind man guide a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 (AR)A [q]student is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will [r]be like his teacher. 41 And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye. 43 (AS)For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, [s]on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit. 44 (AT)For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a bramble bush. 45 (AU)The good man out of the good [t]treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil. (AV)For his mouth speaks from the abundance of his heart.
Build Your House on the Rock
46 “(AW)Now why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? 47 (AX)Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and does them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who dug and went deep, and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the river burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. 49 But the one who heard and did not do accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the river burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”
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